A customers' credit or debit card now can be combined with loyalty program cards for restaurant chains so that payment, purchase history, product preference, and promotional offers

Robert Purvin, Chairman of the American Association of Franchisees and Dealers, gives an interview about trends and events that should concern franchise owners in 2008. Formed in 1992, the AAFD represents more than 50,000 franchised businesses in 50 states and represents more than 100 different franchise systems. Purvin, a franchise attorney by training, sees franchisee-friendly bills proliferating at the state and federal level for the first time in many years, a growing desire by lawmakers to change the ability of franchisors to enforce mandatory arbitration and franchisee's pushing for growth in more independent franchisee associations to represent their needs in 2008.

BMM: What are the major trends that franchisees should keep an eye out for in 2008 and why?  

Purvin: 2008 can potentially be a watershed year for franchisees and prospective franchisees, and for several reasons.

Most obviously, the revised Federal Trade Commission's Franchise Disclosure Rule becomes mandatory in July, 2008, and with it, franchisee associations gain a valuable tool to establish recognition and viability. Franchisee associations may now compel franchisors to disclose their existence and contact information in the franchise disclosure document for their respective franchise systems. This was a provision that was strongly supported by the AAFD and other franchisee advocates, and is expected to be a major boost to the effectiveness of independent FOA's, especially as it increases visibility and legality of such associations.

The Akron Beacon Journal posted a couple of stories on franchising today.

The first one mentions some franchise trends to watch for in the coming year taken from Joel Libava's article on the award winning Small Business Trends website.

The second franchise story is about a candidate of Joel's.....Mike Whelan, a former Officemax executive, who used Joel's services, and ended up investing in a Huntington Learning Center franchise, which he opened near Akron, Ohio.

The marketer in me is always on the prowl for cool ideas, and how the franchise industry can utilize them. About 2-3 times a year, an internet stunner is found by myself.  I found this yesterday, after  following a link to someone who commented on one of my blogs.

I suggest you take 10 minutes or so, and watch and interact with a bit of cool marketing from our techy friends in Japan. It will take a few minutes to figure out what is being "marketed."  But I trust you will.....Take a 10 minute break..today!

Directions:

Go to- http://thefranchiseking.typepad.com  

Scroll down until you see the WOW! in my sidebar.

{Before you look and click it, please subscribe to the blog-upper right side-Thanx!} 

Take a 1 minute look at it, and then click the WOW! box.

Enjoy, and comment.

Cheers,

Franpro 

But Independent Experts Say Study Misleading

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Blue MauMau) - A study concludes that SBA loans given to franchises had a higher rate of repayment failure than loans to non franchises (see chart). Franchises had a 6.5% charge-off rate, the amount that the lender has to dismiss or charge off for having a nonpaying bad loan, which was more than the 5.9% for the average small business.

Chart provided by permission of the International
Franchise Association's journal, Franchising World

The International Franchise Association's Education Foundation contracted with Frandata Corp., a franchise industry research firm, to compare Small Business Administration (SBA) non-franchise loans to franchise loans from 2001 through 2006. Lenders can receive a guaranty of payment by the SBA if they structure their loans according to the Administration's requirements.